KUALA LUMPUR: Fourteen tourists from Wuhan, China, who arrived in this country via Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Jan 28 have been sent home.
Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the action was taken following government’s ban against tourists from Wuhan and Hubei region to avoid the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
“Checks by Immigration Department personnel at KLIA found the 14 individuals are from Wuhan, China. Therefore, the department issued a ‘Not to Land’ notice to those individuals and sent them back home.
“Based on the standard operating procedure (SOP), visitors from Wuhan and Hubei are not allowed to enter from all entry points in this country,” he said at a press conference at Bukit Aman Police Headquarters today.
He added that border security measures were also taken into consideration as Malaysia had extensive border areas, including Sabah and Sarawak.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said he was informed that there were seven cases of fake news involving the coronavirus outbreak and actions had been taken by the police in collaboration with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
“Do not twist facts and spread false news about the virus on social media because it could cause panic and fear,” he said.